Sectional-block tile.



F. H. MEIER.

SECTIONAL BLOCK TILE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24. 1916..

Patented Jan. 1,1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET]- zz/erz 2 0 2 x F. H. MEIER.

SECTIONAL BLVOCK TILE. 'APPLICATIQNFILED JULY-24. 191's.

' Patented Jan. '1, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- sinus PATENT onto FREDRICK H MEIER, OF MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA.

SECTIONAL-BLOCK TILE. V

Application filed July 24, 1916.

. sible to store and ship the tile in a minimum space.

Still a further object is to provide such a tile made of such sectional blocks, so constructed and arranged that'the blocks may be assembled on the job wherethe tile is to be installed and the blocks may be secured together with cement or concrete if desired, so as to make a water tight joint.

. A further object is to provide such a sectional block tile which, when the blocks are assembled is held together against any accidental dis-assembling.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the varlous parts of the device, whereby, the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompaanying drawings,

in which Flgure 1 shows a slde elevation of a completed sectional block tile embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 shows an end elevation of the same, one-half of the tile being shown in the vertical cross section.

Fig. 3 shows a vertical, sectional view through the interlockingjoint members at one end of the tile.

I Fig. 4 shows an inside face or plan view of one of the outer tile sections.

Fig. 5 shows a detail, sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 shows an end view of a portion of three tile sections placed together.

Fig. 7 shows a side elevation partly in section of a plurality of tiles placed together in a course.

Fig. 8 shows a sectional, perspective View of three blocks of tile placed together.

Fig. 9 shows a perspective view atthe outs Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918. Serial No. 111,058.

side of three sections of blocks of the tile 7 during the progress'of assembling, parts be;

ing broken away, and parts being shown in section, and

Fig. 10 shows a perspective view of three of the tile blocks during the' progress of manufacture.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a tile made up of outer blocks or sections which I have indicated by the reference numeral 10 and the inner blocks or sections 11.

The blocks are curved from. side to side on the radius of a circle having its center at the center of the completed tile.

. The outer blocks are each provided at one end with an inwardly extending flange 12, and may be provided at the same end with an outwardly extending flange 12, as shown in Figs. 1 and 7.

Each outer block is provided with a pair of spaced ribs 13 preferably located near the side edges of the inner surface of the tile block and extending from the flange 12 to the opposite end of the tile block or section. The flanges 12 are preferably some:

what thicker radially of the completed tile than the ribs 13. At their ends adjacent to the flange12, the ribs 13 are provided with laterally extending ofl-set portions l l preferably extending to the adjacent edges of the tile block. Adjacent to the flange 12 and located between the ribs 13 of each tile block are formed lugs 15. The ribs l3.are tapered or beveled, at one side edge as shown in Fig. 6, so that said ribs are narrower where they join-the body of the block 10 than at their inner faces. The faces of the lugs 15 adjacent to the ribs 13 are beveled, so that the lugs 15 are narrower from'side to side at their portions adjacent to the body of the block 10 than at their faces farther from the bodyof the block 10.

Each inner block or section 16 is provided that the inner blocks have the flange 12*, the

lug 15 and the ribs 13 similar to the parts 12, 15 and 13 above described extending outwardly instead of inwardly, the difference being clearly shown in Figs. a and 9.

In assembling the blocks to form a tile in a ditch or the like, two of the outer blocks are laid side by side, as shown in Fig. 8. I preferably then fill the spaces on opposite sides of the ribs 13 with concrete 17, or any suitable plastic material as shown in Fig. 8, and then place the outer face of an inner block against the inner face of the two blocks already assembled and force the inner block outwardly pressing the plastic filling aside. At this stage in the assembling of the tile, the inner block or section is placed over the joint between the two outer sections, but the end of the inner section having the flange 12 is arranged opposits theends of the outer sections having the flange 12 andis made to project longitudinally beyond the adjacent ends of the outer sections a short distance. It will be noted that the ribs 13 of the inner blocks or sections have their side edges, which are adjacent to each other, so arranged as to lie in planes radial of the completed tile, whereas the outer side edges of said ribs are tapered inwardly toward the block, as clearly shown in Fig. 8. On the other hand the side edges of the outer blocks are similarly arranged, so that when the block is placed adjacent to the inner surface of two outer blocks lying edge to edge, the inner block may be moved outwardly until its ribs rest against the outer blocks with the radi ally arranged faces of the ribs of the inner block arranged adjacent to the radially arranged faces of the ribs of the outer blocks, as shown in Fig. 8. When the inner section has been pressed against the outer section, the inner section then moved longitudinally until the ribs 13 of the inner section slide between the lugs 15 and the ribs 13 of the outer sections. It will be noted that on account of the shape of the ribs 13, hereinbefore mentioned, it is not neccessary to slide the inner blocks longitudinally on the outer blocks the entire length of the blocks in order to lock the inner and outer blocks together, but said inner blocks may be moved longitudinally of the outer blocks only a distance equal to the length of the lugs '15 longitudinally of the blocks. In this connection it will be noted that the ribs and lugs are so beveledthat the inner and outer sections will be firmly locked together by the engagement of the ribs 13 of the outer blocks with the lug 15 and the ribs 13 of the inner section or block and by the engagement of the ribs 13 and lug 15 on the inner section with the ribs 13 andlugs 15 of the outer sections, so that when all of the inner and outer blocks or sections of each tile have been assembled around the tile, there will be a tight joint entirely around the tile at each end thereof, made up of interlocking parts, and the interlocking parts will be bound by plastic filler and will be covered by bodies of the sections and the flanges 12 and '12.

When the tile has once been assembled, it can behandled with considerable freedom and will not come apart.

It will readily be seen that when the plastic flller in the tile has set, a very strong rigid construction will be made Where the device is used for sewers, I preferably use the type of tile having outer sections provided at one end with the flanges 12, having outward extensions 12, as shown in Fig. 7, while at the opposite end of each tile, the flanges 12 of the inner sections or blocks are made tofproject outwardly beyond the outer sections or blocks at 13 and to abut against the flanges 12 of the adjacent alined tile. The joints between the two tiles can then be covered with concrete 18, as shown in Fig. '7 for making a water tight conduit.

In the manufacture of sections of blocksv for tile of the kind herein described, I make three sections of blocks at a time arranged in a triangle, as shown in Fig. 10, secured together along their side edges.

The tile sections'or blocks can be made in this way and can be burned without serious warping, whereas, it is difiicult to burn the sections of blocks singly. The three sections of blocks shown in Fig. 10 may be very easily broken apart at edges where the material connecting them is very thin.

The advantage of a sectional block of this type is very great. It is well known to jthe trade that it is expensive and diflicult to make clay tile of large size. The weight of the material in such a tile is such that the tile tends to lose its shape during the process of manufacture and during the handling of the tile while the tile is being moved or transferred for burning.

There is a certain point where the size of the tile becomes so great that clay tile cannot economically be made. For instance, small clay tile'can be made cheaper per ton than large clay tile but after a certain size is reached, clay tile manufacturers cannot compete with concrete tile manufacturers, on account of the fact that large clay tile are much more expensive in proportionto their size and weight than small tile. Where the tile is made in blocks, as shown, the eX- pense of manufacture, storage and transportation is very greatly reduced, and even when the expense of assembling is added, the tile made in sections can be installed in a job cheaper than large tile made in a single piece. 7

Another advantage of atile of this type lies in the fact that the block sections can be assembled on the job.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my improved tile without departing from the essential features and purposes, thereof, and it is my intention to cover by this application, any such changes which may be included within the scope of my claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tile comprising a plurality of outer blocks or sections arranged side by side in a circle, a plurality of inner blocks similarly arranged with their outer faces adjacent to the inner faces of the outer blocks, and overlapping the joints between the outer blocks, said outer and inner blocks being provided on their inner and outer faces, respectively, with coacting ribs and lugs, whereby the inner and outer blocks may be locked together when assembled in a completed tile, said ribs being so spaced as to leave open spaces between thesections, each outer block being provided at one end with an inwardly extending flange for covering the joints between the blocks'at one end of the tile and with an outwardly extending flange, each inner block being pr0- vided at the opposite end with an outwardly extending flange for covering the joints between said blocks, projecting beyond the outer sections.

2. A tile, comprising a plurality of outer sections curved from side to side arranged edge to edge in succession around a tile, each outer block having on its inner surface spaced longitudinally arranged ribs with their adjacent edges lying in planes radial of the tile, and with their outer side edges beveled toward the bodies of said sections, each outer block having at one end a flange V projecting inwardly beyond said ribs, and

having adjacent to said flange between said ribs an inwardly projecting lug having its side edges beveled toward the bodies of the section, and a plurality of inner sections, each having on its outer surface spaced ribs, the adjacent edges of said ribs being arranged in planes radial of the tile, the outer side edges of said last ribs being beveled toward the bodies of said inner sections, said inner sections being arranged in a circle inside the outer sections with said first described edges of the ribs of each inner section arranged adjacent to the first described edges of ribs of two outer sections, each inner section having at one end an outwardly extending flange adapted to be at the opposite end of the tile from the in wardly extending flanges of the outer sections, each inner section having between its ribs adjacent to its outwardly extending flange, an outwardly extending lug having its side/edges beveled toward the body of said inner section, whereby the inner and outer sections may be assembled by placing the inner sections against the outer sections, and movin them a slight distance longitudinally, for causing the ribs of the inner and outer sections to interlock with the lugs of the outer and inner sections.

3. A sectional tile, comprising a plurality of outer sections arranged in a circle around the tile, a plurality of inner sections similarly arranged and staggered with relation to the outer sections, each outer section being provided with inwardly extending ribs and with an inwardly extending lug near one end, each inner section being provided with outwardly extending ribs and with an outwardly extending lug near its opposite end, the coacting faces of the ribs and lugs being beveled to permit the inner and outer sections to be placed together and moved slightly longitudinally for causing the ribs and lugs of the sections to interlock, and for leaving spaces between the inner and outer sections.

Des Moines, Iowa, July 13, 1916.

V FREDRIOK H. MEIER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

